Bug: Screen fades out during video playback

[Szwagi]

Reproduction steps

1. Open a video
2. Video is playing
3. Play and pause are visible at the same time
4. Don't touch anything
5. Android will fade the screen out and lock the device while the video is playing
6. Only way to fix this is to force stop the app AND reset cache.

Actual result

Android will fade the screen out and lock the device while the video is playing

Expected result

Don't fade the screen out and let me watch the video.

Grayjay Version

372

What plugins are you seeing the problem on?

YouTube

Plugin Version

332

Which android version are you using?

Android 16

Which device are you using?

Google Pixel 9a

Which operating system are you using?

GrapheneOS

When do you experience the issue?

• While logged in
• While logged out
• N/A

Are you using a VPN?

Yes

References

#1376

There was one more from 2024-2025 that I saw a few months ago where someone said it was fixed... Can't find anymore.

Relevant log output

[Zvonimir-FUTO]

Is this reproducible for you? Can you upload a screen recording of the play and pause buttons being visible at the same time.

[Szwagi]

Is this reproducible for you? Can you upload a screen recording of the play and pause buttons being visible at the same time.

It's not. It happens at random, but it happens pretty often (every 1-2 days, with usage being one session of a few videos a day). To be clear I only mention the play and pause button because it's an indicator I hit the bug where my screen will fade out. Pausing and unpausing the video fixes the button but the screen will continue fading out until I force stop and clear cache (changing videos and soft closing does not fix it).

Only unusual thing I do is I leave a 10h video playing overnight with the screen turned off. Could be related?

Edit: Unsure if this is helpful, but I have a way to reproduce the button, but in a case where it's not an indicator of the screen fade out bug.

1. Soft close Grayjay
2. Open Grayjay
3. Open a YouTube video and quickly tap to show controls before video loads
4. The the play and pause button are both shown at the same time
5. The controls disappear because of "Waiting for media to become available"
6. The controls display as normal now

[Zvonimir-FUTO]

The bug being present while video is still loading is "normal" but did it happen for you after video is loaded?

[Szwagi]

The bug being present while video is still loading is "normal" but did it happen for you after video is loaded?

Yes. The play and pause button are on top of a video that was playing.
If I pause and unpause the play+pause button fixes itself and stays fixed.
However, just seeing the pause and unpause lets me know the app entered a broken state where the screen will fade out while videos are playing until I force stop and reset cache (the actual bug I'm reporting).

[Zvonimir-FUTO]

Will try to figure out how to reproduce this in next few weeks. Pretty hard to figure out the cause without reproduction.